Home/News from NPR/Bahamian Government Revises Number Of Missing After Dorian Down To 1,300

Bahamian Government Revises Number Of Missing After Dorian Down To 1,300

By Vanessa Romo

September 14, 2019

As people continue to search for loved ones in the rubble across Bahamian islands, the government now says the number of missing is down to 1,300 — a drastic reduction from previous records of 2,500.

“The number of people registered missing with the Bahamas government is going down daily,” Carl Smith, a spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency, or NEMA, explained to reporters, adding that many could be unaccounted for in shelters.

The latest figures come as yet another potentially damaging storm is on its way.

A tropical depression is expected to turn into a tropical storm and hit the central and northwestern Bahamas with winds and heavy rains by Saturday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

“The disturbance will more than likely take a very similar path to Dorian,” chief meteorologist Shavonne Moxey-Bonamy said.

The Associated Press reported the approaching storm slowed efforts to bring aid to the Abaco islands on Friday. The islands were decimated by Dorian, which struck the islands on Sept. 1.

The death toll on the islands remains 50, according to the most recent NEMA count on Friday, but Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said on Wednesday that he expected that number to significantly increase.